Fitness and faith help my neurodivergent brain

Sophie Mei Lan struggled to understand herself until she was diagnosed. Today, she describes how exercise enables her to truly thrive as the person God has designed her to be

“You’re a whirlwind”, “you’re chaotic”, “you’re disorganised”, “you’re too giddy” are just a few of the ways I have been described. I was always criticised as being in “Sophie’s world”, rather than the “normal world”– according to neurotypical people.

My neurodivergent brain has always been described negatively, but actually sometimes it is what’s not said that hurts most; the anger and frustration from those around me, as I whizz around unable to sit still and often forgetting things. Unintentionally injuring myself and picking up on others’ responses can make me flap more. It can feel distressing when your brain is wired a certain way so that it is much harder to process the world around you.